When something comes from the Raja stable, one expects some light-hearted fun and a clean entertainer. And Thillalangadi too starts out as a fun film but somewhere down the way, it meanders and drags for over 3 hours, leaving you weary.
Krishna (Jayam Ravi) is a happy-go-lucky youngster from Chennai who loves to take risks to get a ‘kick’. He seeks a kick in everything he does. He falls for Nisha (Tamannaah) who also falls for him soon enough. However, she is fed up with his irresponsible ways and breaks up with him and leaves for Malaysia. Nisha’s parents arrange her marriage with Krishna Kumar (Shaam), a tough and honest cop. Krishna Kumar is hot on the trail of a smart thief who has been robbing crores of money from business tycoons and politicians. The twist in the tale is that it is Krishna…
Based on the Telugu hit, Kick (2009), the screenplay does not flow smoothly and moves in spurts and jerks. What initially looked like a triangular romance, towards the last half hour turns the hero into a Robinhood who loots black money for a cause, in this case for the medical treatment of orphan kids with the modus operandi reminding one strongly of Shankar’s films. M Raja’s films are usually clean but this surprisingly has its share of double entendres and dirty jokes. It also takes potshots at Suriya where Jayam Ravi pretends memory loss and says his name is Ghajini, not to mention a spoof on the Aadhavan (2009) song Vaarayo. The large star cast looks glitzy but results in weak establishment of characters and all of them end up caricatures with no depth. The fact that everyone is trying to be perpetually comic does not help!
Still for what it’s worth, Jayam Ravi plays his part adequately enough even if he is OTT on several occasions but since his character is quite an eccentric one, it’s supposed to be acceptable. The scene at the bedside of a girl, whose operation he arranges for, is touching and he gets a chance to display histrionics here which he does quite well. Tamannaah’s skin show has been exploited to the maximum especially in the opening yoga scene and the dance numbers. Her acting skills have actually improved and she is able to carry off the fun role though she too suffers a case of over-acting now and then! Shaam, playing his role from the Telugu original, is rather insipid and does not radiate the aura of a powerful police officer, neither does he show adequate emotion or anger that is needed for his role. The supporting cast like Prabhu, Suhasini and Livingston play their roles well. Vadivelu evokes a few laughs and so does Santhanam. Nalini as the arrogant MLA plays the role perfectly to the hilt. But Radha Ravi as the politician exudes no seriousness and the role feels silly.
B Rajasekar’s cinematography is good and he exploits the locales of Malaysia well and excels in the chase scenes. However, with the whole film going for an ultra colourful look, the bold and bright colours hurt your eyes after a point. The art direction gets a bit garish in some song sequences like the one with red backdrops and golden dragons. Yuvan Shankar Raja’s music is youthful and peppy but is not very different from his regular fare with Solla Marantha Sundaribeing the best of the lot. Some of the songs have been thrust into the film forcibly and stick out like sore thumbs thanks to their bad placements. Sasi Kumar’s editing leaves much to be desired – the whole introductory comedy track looks like it has been left half done and hanging. About half an hour of editing would help remove many inane scenes that don’t do much for the film, which surely could have done with some editing help from the producer ‘Editor’ Mohan.
All in all, average in its best moments and little else.
Tamil, Romance, Action, Drama, Color